Intestinal adaptation has been extensively studied experimentally, but very limited data is available on human subjects. In this study we assessed intestinal adaption in humans with short bowel syndrome (SBS).
We comparatively evaluated mucosal hyperplasia, inflammation, barrier function and nutrient transport using histology, immunohistochemistry and qPCR for selected 52 key genes in duodenal biopsies obtained from children with SBS after weaning off parenteral nutrition (n = 33), and matched controls without intestinal pathology (n = 12). Small bowel dilatation was assessed from contrast small bowel series.
Duodenal mucosa of SBS children showed increased histologic inflammation of lamina propria (p = 0.033) and mucosal mRNA expression of tumor necrosis factor (p = 0.027), transforming growth factor (TGF)-β2 (p = 0.006) and caveolin-1 (CAV1; p = 0.001). Villus height, crypt depth, enterocyte proliferation, apoptosis and expression of proliferation and nutrient transport genes remained unchanged. Pathologic small bowel dilatation reduced crypt depth (p = 0.045) and downregulated mRNA expression of interleukin (IL)-6 by three-fold (p = 0.008), while correlating negatively with IL6 (r = -0.609, p = 0.004). Loss of ileocecal valve (ICV) upregulated mRNA expression of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), TGF-β1, CAV1, several apoptosis regulating genes, and mRNA expression of zonulin (p &lt; 0.05 for all).
Despite successful adaptation to enteral autonomy, duodenal mucosa of SBS children displayed histologic and molecular signs of abnormal inflammation and regulation of epithelial permeability, whereas no structural or molecular signs of adaptive hyperplasia or enhanced nutrient transport were observed. Excessive dilatation of the remaining small bowel paralleled impaired duodenal crypt homeostasis, while absence of ICV modified regulation of mucosal inflammation, regeneration and permeability.
II.
II.Children with ulcerative colitis (UC) may undergo a staged approach for restorative proctocolectomy and ileal pouch anal anastomosis (IPAA). Previous studies in adults suggest a decreased morbidity with delayed pouch creation, but pediatric studies are limited. We compared outcomes for delayed versus early pouch construction in children.
Patients with UC undergoing IPAA were selected from the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Pediatric database from 2012 to 2018. Patients were categorized as early (2-stage) or delayed (3-stage) pouch construction based on Current Procedural Terminology codes. Our primary outcome was any adverse event. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/itd-1.html We used a multivariable logistic regression model to assess the relationship between timing of pouch creation and adverse events.
We identified 371 children who underwent IPAA 157 (42.3%) had early pouch creation and 214 (57.6%) had a delayed pouch. Those with an early pouch creation were more likely to have exposure to immunosuppressants (11% vs. 5%, p?=?0.017) and steroids (30% vs. 10%, p?&lt;?0.001) at the time of surgery. After controlling for patient characteristics, there were no significant differences in adverse events between the two groups.
Children undergoing early pouch creation have increased exposure to steroids and immune suppressants; nevertheless, no differences in adverse events were identified.
II.
II.This study evaluated compliance with a multi-institutional quality improvement management protocol for Type-C esophageal atresia with distal tracheoesophageal fistula (EA/TEF).
Compliance and outcomes before and after implementation of a perioperative protocol bundle for infants undergoing Type-C EA/TEF repair were compared across 11 children's hospitals from 1/2016-1/2019. Bundle components included elimination of prosthetic material between tracheal and esophageal suture lines during repair, not leaving a transanastomotic tube at the conclusion of repair (NO-TUBE), obtaining an esophagram by postoperative-day-5, and discontinuing prophylactic antibiotics 24?h postoperatively.
One-hundred seventy patients were included, 40% pre-protocol and 60% post-protocol. Bundle compliance increased 2.5-fold pre- to post-protocol from 17.6% to 44.1% (p?&lt;?0.001). After stratifying by institutional compliance with all bundle components, 43.5% of patients were treated at low-compliance centers (&lt;20%), 43% at medium-compliance centers (20-80%), and 13.5% at high-compliance centers (&gt;80%). Rates of esophageal leak, anastomotic stricture, and time to full feeds did not differ between pre- and post-protocol cohorts, though there was an inverse correlation between NO-TUBE compliance and stricture rate over time (ρ?=?-0.75, p?=?0.029).
Compliance with our multi-institutional management protocol increased 2.5-fold over the study period without compromising safety or time to feeds and does not support the use of transanastomotic tubes.
Level II.
Treatment Study.
Treatment Study.CMS has proposed removing postoperative care from the global periods for surgical procedures and instead requiring surgeons to bill for postoperative visits using evaluation &amp; management (E&amp;M) codes. This policy may alter reimbursement to pediatric surgeons.
To assess the impact of this policy, NSQIP-pediatric data were used to calculate median LOS for high-volume procedures with 10 or 90?day global periods. We then merged these data with CMS physician work time and RVU files. A CMS LOS variable was created by counting the number of hospital-based E&amp;M codes built into the global period based on the fact that if global periods are removed, surgeons may only bill one E&amp;M code per postoperative day. We then compared the CMS and NSQIP LOS values.
The dataset included 201 CPT codes with NSQIP LOS estimates derived from a median of 137 operations. Twenty-nine procedures (14.4%) had higher, 24 (16.9%) had the same, and 138 (68.7%) had lower NSQIP median LOS than current CMS values. On average, NSQIP values were 40.0% (95% confidence interval [95CI] -50.0, -29.9%) lower than CMS values. Based on a daily average work RVU per postoperative E&amp;M code of 1.09 (95% CI 1.05, 1.12), and $35.78 per RVU (2017 rate), surgeons in this sample would experience a cumulative annual reduction in reimbursement of approximately $3.4?M following the policy change.
Most pediatric surgical procedures have RVU valuations that include more hospital-based E&amp;M codes than the current median number of postoperative days. Holding all else equal, the removal of global periods would therefore reduce reimbursement for pediatric surgeons. The downstream effects of this policy change, such as the impact on the quality of clinical care, are uncertain and warrant further investigation.
Clinical research paper.
Level II.
Level II.